Elijah Clarke

Elijah Clarke (1742-15 December 1799) was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Biography
Elijah Clarke was born in 1742 in Anson County, North Carolina, and he served in the Georgia militia during the American Revolutionary War. Clarke served in the Wilkes County militia after the fall of Savannah in 1779, and he served under Andrew Pickens in the Battle of Kettle Creek and other battles during the southern theater. After the war, Clarke was elected to the Georgia legislature, founding the semi-independent Trans-Oconee Republic in 1794 to prevent the government of the United States from ceding captured lands back to the Creeks. Clarke's republic fought against the Creeks until the US Army was dispatched to the republic, and the federal troops forced Clarke to surrender before destroying the houses and forts. He died on 15 December 1799 at the age of 57.